Exhibition bench



Jan. 5, 1932. A. HARTMANN 1,339,573

EXHIBITION BENCH Filed March 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Jan. 5,1932. Y A. HARTMANN 1,839,673

EXHIBITION BENCH Filed Marh 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 52 INyzIITORATTORNEYfi Patented Jan. 5, 1932 AUGUST HARTMANN, or MoIv'roLArn, NEWJERSEY, nssronon 'rosrnnrtrs PATENT (AMERICA) LIMITED, 0F NEVJARK,BRITAIN NEW JERSEY, A coRroRArioN or GREAT EXHIBITION BENCH.

Application filed March 15, 1929. Serial No. 347,243.

This invention relates to exhibition benches of the type used atdog'shows and the like for displaying animals, and the object of theinvention is to provide a bench for this purpose which is of simple,rugged construction and which may be readily set up and dismantled, theparts being capable of shipment in knock-down condition .without beingcrated.

This invention is an improvement upon the exhibition bench described-andclaimed in my Patent No. 1,784,438 issued December 9th, 1930, and isdirected to the provision of an exhibition bench which may be readilyassembled or dismantled and on which the animals may be exposed to theview of the spectators while enclosed on all'sides. This bench is madeof a few parts,'most or all of which may be shipped Without crating andthese parts are capable of assembly to form a complete bench by a fewworkmen in a short time. On this bench the animals are housed incompartments the dimensions of which may be varied as desired and thesecompartments are provided with doors which may be locked if the owner ofthe exhibit wishes that done. g

The new bench of the patent includes floor boards mounted on horses, aback board, a front skirting board and a plurality of partitions. -Theskirting boards are held in place by portions of the partition gratingswhich extend rearwardly and are anchored to the back board. Mounted inthe skirting boards, in the new bench, are a plurality of uprightmembers which support a front upper rail and mounted on this rail arehinged doors, one or more for each compartment. Above the bench andsupported in part on guy-rods which extend from the front rail to theback-board are top gratings, usually made in hinged pairs and held inangular relation to form a gable top over a row of compartments on oneside of the back-board.

The new bench includes numerous other features in addition to thoseabove briefly mentioned and the constructional details will be moreclearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. lis a View in perspective of a bench partly assembled; I

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a partition grating; F 3 is aperspectiveview of a guy rod; l 1g. 4 is a perspective view of the upperrail; i y Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a supporting member for therail; 1 a F 6 a plan view of the gable top grating over half of thebench; 1

Fig-7 is fragmentary view in side elevation showing the manner in whichthe top grating is supported in place;

Fig. 8 is a view in side, elevation partly in sectionshowing ahinge fora front door; Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation partly in sectionshowing an anchoring member for the front door; Fig. 10 is a view inside elevationpartly in section showing a hinge for connecting the twoparts of the front door; 1

' Fig. 11 is a front elevational view'of-a portion of the bench;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of thebench with the toolgra'tings andother.parts-removed;

Fig. l3 is a sectional view showing the manner in which the partitiongratings and gable top gratings are mounted in position; and p r Fig. ll is a sectional view showing the manner in which thefront rail issupported and anchored in place.

Referring now to the drawings, the bench consists of a floor 20 made upof a plurality of floor boards which may be connected together insections of suitable length bycleats. These floor boards are of'a lengthsuch that the sections can be readily handled and for a long-bench anumber offloor board sections are placed end to end and supported on sawhorses 21 disposed at suitable intervals.

gable Ordinarily, each bench is of double width so that two rows ofanimals may be housed thereon, the compartments for the animals beingseparated by back-board sections 22'consist ing of a plurality of boardslaid edge to edge and connected by cleats. In a long bench a number ofsuch back-board sections areemployed, these back-board sections restingon edge on the floor boards. 7

At the end of each bench, end boards 23 are provided, these boards beingsecured firmly in position on the floor boards in any suitable manneras, for example, by L-shaped brackets screwed to the floor boards and tothe end boards. Mounted along each longitudinal edge of the floor of thebench is a skirting board 24 of the construction described in my patentabove-referred to. This skirting board is drilled, as indicated at 25 atshort intervals and holes are also drilled through the edges of thefloor at similar intervals, the skirting board being placed in uprightposition on the floor with the holes in the board registering with thosein the floor. The bench is sub-divided into compartments by a pluralityof partition gratings, one of which is shown in Fig. 2 and designated26. This grating is made up of rods 27 with wire grating 28 closing theframe defined by the rods. The front rod has a projecting portion 28which is of suflicient length to pass through one of the openings 25 inthe skirting board and through the corresponding opening in the floor,the bottom rod 29 having an offset portion 30 to permit this method ofassembling. Therear rod 31 also has a projecting portion 32 which'mayenter one of a row of holesin the floor close to and at one side of theback-board 22. The top rod of the grating terminates in a hook 33 whichpasses over and engages behind the backboard.

When a grating is to be placed in position, the skirting board is firststood on edge and the openings therethrough placed in registry withthose in the front edge of the floor. The grating is then slipped inplace with the projecting portion 28 of the front rod passing through anopening in the skirting board and g the corresponding opening in thefloor board.

The rear projection 32 passes through a corresponding opening near theback-board and the hook 33 passes over and engages behind theback-board. The grating, therefore, serves to anchor the skirting boardin upright position and also holds the back-board upright, the severalgratings along'the bench being the means used to keep the'back-board inupright position. It will be understood that the position of thegratings will depend to some extent on the size of the animals ondisplay, the gratings being spaced to provide compartments of thedesired size. In the bench illustrated, there are two rows of displaycompartments, the compartments of each row being separated by thegratings in the manner described.

In the new bench, the top and front of each compartment is also closedby gratings. As a support for these gratings, there is provided an upperrail 34 of angle section. This rail is supported in position on aplurality of upright rods 35. Each rod has an offset projection 36 atits lower end, the length of the offset being substantially equal to thedistance between a pair of adjacent openings 25 in the skirting board.With this arrangement, the projecting part 28 of the front rod of agrating is placed in one opening and the offset portion 36 of the rod 35is placed in the next adjacent opening in the skirting board, so thatthe main portion ofthe rod 35 lies close to the front rod 27 of thegrating. The top of the rod has a shoulder-37 beyond which the rod is ofreduced diameter. This reduced portion is receivable into holes 38 inone flange of the rail 34. A plurality of rods is provided forsupporting the rail and preferably there are as many rods as partitiongratings, with additional rods at the ends of the bench. V V

. As a further means of anchoring the rail in position, therev areprovided guy rods 39, each of which terminates at its forward end in aplate 40 with an opening 41, which is sufficiently large to receive thereduced end 37 of one of the upright rods 35. At its rear end the rod 39is provided with a return bend 42 which terminates in a hook 43, thehook extending downwardly parallel to one leg 44 of the bend. The spacebetween this leg and the end of the hook is sufiicient so that the hookmay be placed over the back-board 22 to hold the latter fairly snugly.

The top of each row of compartments is closed by a pair of gratings 45,46, connected to one another by hinges 47, such, for example, as theS-shaped clip 48 shown in Fig. 10. These gratings consist of rods 49forming a rectangular frame on which wide spaced wire mesh 50 ismounted. The outer rod '51 ofon-e of the gratings is provided With 7. r

the pair bears against one face of the backboard, the guy rods 39 andtheir associated partition gratings 26 lying in the loops as shown moreclearly in Fig. 7. lVith this arrangement, the dimensions of the pair ofgratings 45, 46, are such that when these gratings are mounted in themanner described, the two gratings lie at an angle (Fig. 1), thusforming a gable top over a row of compartments at one side of thebackboard, the open space at the end of each gable being closed by atriangular grating 53 which may be secured to the end rods of gratings45, 46'by tie wires 54. On a long bench a plurality of pairs of gratings45, 46 are employed, lying end to end.

The front of each compartment is closed by a door which consists of .apair of gratings 55, 56 (Fig. 11). Each of these gratings is made up ofa stiff rod forming a frame, the center of the frame being closed bywide space wire mesh. The grating 56 is considerably smaller than thegrating and forms the bottom part of the door, being hinged to thegrating 55 by hinges 48 or the like. The grating 56 provides a flapwhich may be raised to permit food and water to be introduced into thecompartments without raising the whole door. I

The grating 55 on which grating 56 is hinged in turn mounted on theupper rail 3% by means of hinges 57. Each hinge has a hook 57 at eachend and the hinges are slipped on the rail with the hooks receiving thetwo parts of the rail. Each hinge also includes a yoke 58 in which theupper rod 62 of the grating 55 is placed, the rod being held againstdisplacement by a cotter pin or the like. By means of this mounting, thecomplete door formed of gratings 55, 56 may be swung upwardly to lieagainst the front part of the gable top. When in this position, theentirefront of each compartment is opened so that tne animal may beremoved, thecompartmentcleaned,etc. Ordinarily the door is in loweredposition and since the gratings are of wide mesh, they do not interferewith inspection of the animals. Preferably each door is of a lengthsuitable for a compartment of ordinary width, but with widercompartments, two or more doors will be provided. Since the doors are ofgrating construction, they provide an easy means for locking thecompartments, a padlock being employed for this purpose and engaged witha rod of the grating and' around one of the upright rods 35.

In order to prevent the hinge clips 57 from being displaced from theupper rail 3& when the doors are raised, each door is preferablyprovided with locking hook 60. This hook is provided with .a channelshaped'portion which is secured to one flange of the grating by means ofa bolt 61 with a wing nut, the free end of the hook passing over the topof the rail and over the upper rod 62 of the grating 55. Then the dooris raised, the hook prevents the rod from being moved in such a mannerasto dislodge the clip.

While I have described a construction of oiily a part of the bench, itwill be apparent that each row of compartments at one side of thebackboard will be provided with its gable top and doors so that eachbench has a double row of animal compartments.

It will be seen that in the new bench, all of the parts may be readilyassembled and dismantled .and the gratings, skirting boards, rods, etc.are of such construction that they may be shipped without crating.\Vhere the display benches have to be taken down in a short time andshipped to another city as is frequently the case, the elimination ofcrating is an important item, both in the cost of handling and in thetime required for taking down the bench in one location and putting itin another. In thisibench, practically no fastening devices, such asbolts are reand by unskilled workmen. The new bench constitues a greatimprovement over those as heretofore used since the animals arecompletely housed. At the same time, this ad-- ditional protection isprovided by means which do not add substantially to the time ofassembling or dismantlingor to the cost of shipment.

I claim:

. 1. In .a knock-down exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, aback-board mount-ed on the floor, a rail extending parallel to theback-board, posts for supporting the rail above the fioor near the planeof the top of the back-board, said postsentering openings in ltlhefloor, and a top resting in parton said ra1 2. In a knock downexhibition bench, the combination of a floor, a back-board mounted onthe floor, arail extending parallel to the back-board, posts forsupporting the rail above the floor near the edge of the latter and nearthe plane of the top of the back-board, guyrods extending between therail and the back-board, partitions extending from the back-board tosaid posts and a removable top supported in part on the rail and in parton said rods. i

8. In an exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, a back-boardmounted on the floor, askirting board along theedge of the floor, aplurality of posts extending through openings in the skirting board andregistering openings in the floor, a rail mounted on said poslts, andatop supported in part onsaid ra1 ,4. In an exhibition bench, thecombination of a floor, a back-board mounted on the floor, a skirtingboard along the edge of the floor, a plurality of posts extendingthrough openings in the skirting board and registering openings in thefloor, a rail mounted on said posts, guy rods connecting the rail andbackboard, .and a top supported in part on the rail and in part on therods.

5. In an exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, a back-boardmounted on the floor, a skirting board along the edge of the floor, aplurality of posts extending through openings in the skirting board andregistering openings in the floor, a rail mounted on said posts, a topsupported in part on said rail, and a door swingingly supported on saidrail to depend therefrom.

6. In an exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, a back-boardmounted on the floor, a skirting board along the edge of the floor. aplurality of posts extending through openthe ings in the skirting boardand registering openings in the floor, a rail mounted on said posts, guyrods connecting the rail and back board, and a top supported in part onthe rail, and in parton the rods, said top being made of two partsforming a gable, each part being supported along one edge.

7. In an exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, a back-boardmounted on the floor, a skirting board extending along one edge of thefloor and having openings therethrough registering with openings in saidedge, partitions extending between said skirting board and back-boardand having portions entering said openings in the skirting board andfloor and other portions engaging the back-board to hold it in place,posts mounted in said openings, a rail supported in said posts, guy rodsengaging said rail and said back-board, and a top supported on the railand the guy rods. 8. In a knock-down exhibition bench, the combinationof a floor, a back-board mounted on the floor, arail supported above oneedge of the floor at a distance from the back-board, spaced postsentering the floor and supporting said rail and a door suspended fromthe rail by means of a removable hinge.

9. In a knock-down exhibition bench, the combination of a floor, aback-board mounted on the floor, 'a rail supported above one edge of thefloor at a distance from the backboard, spaced posts entering the floorand supporting said rail, a door suspended from the rail by means of aremovable hinge, and means for holding the door against removal, saidmeans permitting free swinging of the door. 1

In testimony whereof I aflixrmy signature.

AUGUST HARTMANN.

